Wolf's Burden
by Berouge
Summary: Both changes were dangerous and unpredictable. More than half of vampire or werewolf changes were failures resulting in the death of the person changing. She was one of a kind and a freak of nature because she was more than just one of them.
1. The Girl

Disclaimer- Patricia Briggs owns what is hers. I am just manipulating things a bit for my own fun.

Check out her other books= Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron Kissed and Cry Wolf as they are all loads of fun!!

Chapter One

**The Girl**

This was bad.

Her breath came in rapid and shallow pants as she looked at her horrified reflection in the glassy eyes of the dead wolf.

This was _very_ bad.

It was a mistake to leave Nebraska. It was an even bigger mistake to head north toward the Marrok's territory seeking asylum. It was a down right catastrophe that she had just shot and killed said Marrok's mate!

She hadn't known who the female was to begin with and had she been informed, she would have whipped right around and high tailed it out of Montana like the dogs of hell were after her.

Which they would be when the Marrok found out whom exactly had snuffed out his mate.

The wind shifted and she lifted her stunned eyes from the dead females' corpse to stare at the racing clouds above; He knew what had happened and He was on the move.

The Marrok was going to obliterate her when he got there. The killing of one's mate was a grievous crime among werewolves. A sentence would be given equal to the crime.

She could run.

She should run. She had inherited that nifty little ability from her mother that would hide her scent from all. It took a great deal of concentration to achieve though, and she was never able to completely grasp the ability being what she was. Werewolf olfactory senses were not something to be underestimated as they could smell ants at fifty yards in a high breeze. All that would accomplish would be for her to die tired and frustrated on top of being scared witless.

Looking back at the fallen queen, she resigned herself to her suddenly stunted future prospects. This wasn't how she pictured dying; it almost seemed too ridiculous to be reality. Dying by the hands of the Vampires or falling to the assassins of nearly half the werewolf packs in the Midwest and South seemed more appropriate.

Getting entangled in the killing of the mate to the Alpha of Alpha's was never even considered a remote possibility.

A swelling of power bubbled up from the south- He was getting closer with each second that passed, and he wasn't alone as the energy from his pack was tangible even from behind the raw power of the Marrok himself.

The panic that she'd been fighting down from the moment she intercepted the insane werewolf from killing the frightened campers was beginning to consume her. She had still been in human form when the gold and silver huntress turned her blood lust onto her stupid interfering self. She didn't have a chance to change and properly defend herself and was thus a standing slab of moronic meat waiting for the deadly swipe of claws to end it all.

What she hadn't counted on was stumbling backwards over the campers' grill with a werewolf latched onto her shoulders, the hard impact of the rock strewn ground and the accidental discharge of her shotguns silver slug into the brain of her attacker. The resulting echo that filled the space between them as the tattered remains of the back of the females' skull were blown high into the air only to plummet back down as chunky rain was deafening.

Shaken, bleeding and terrified, she had eased out from under the female's crumpled form only to be assaulted by the sweeping maelstrom of power only attributed to an Alpha: the call of the dying wolf to her much stronger mate. The only Alpha in this area of the country was the Marrok himself.

It didn't take a brain surgeon to know she was in serious trouble having jumped from the frying pan into the extremely pissed off fryer. That little piece of 'common knowledge' would have been much appreciated ten seconds earlier.

She shrugged the shotgun's shoulder harness off of her injured shoulder, where the werewolf had embedded a set of gleaming claws, and dropped the weapon onto the rocky earth beneath her feet with a rattling clunk. She didn't know how to properly use it and that fact was horrifyingly obvious being presented to her in the form of the dead female.

He was getting closer. It wouldn't be long now.

She was going to die. She didn't want to die!

She was panting now as white-hot panic started to flood her brain while her heart pounded out an increasingly escalating rhythm. She needed a distraction; something to focus on so she didn't hyperventilate or have a heart attack.

She cast around to see if the campers had taken her shouted command of "It's mad! Run for it!" at face value. Only the deep troughs of dirt left by their SUV's frantic exit, and the fallen smoking grill, were the only visual signs left that humans had even been there.

The wind shifted again, bringing the metallic scent of fresh blood towards her nose. Normally, blood would be a titillating aroma. Being that she was a werewolf with part of the make-up of a vampire, she should have been itching to have a go at the fresh meat.

It did nothing but make her retch until she was dry heaving and trembling worse than before. Her heart still struggling against her ribs as if trying to escape its confines and run for it.

Death wasn't something she revealed in. It was something she had drug behind her everywhere she happened to go since she was a very little girl after the death of her mother. Like an anchor, it hindered her and warped her life miserably by its dragging power.

Taking a few calming breaths to steady herself, she reached for her forgotten bag that she'd shed when the werewolf had charged the humans, and dug around looking for her bottle of water that she had filled up at the last stream she'd crossed.

A flash of light caught her eye and she took in the cracked remains of her mother's hand held, silver mirror with a sinking feeling of despair on top of everything else.

Forgetting her original mission for water, she snatched the afforded distraction and sank to the ground with the bag still clutched in one hand and stared numbly at the spider web of breaks that spread out across the reflective surface. Lifting the, now useless, heirloom from her pack with almost reverent hands, she peered at her own image that was distorted by the many hair fractures.

A pair of greenish eyes set in a pale face, smudged with dirt and splattered in blood, framed by a copper mane of frizzy hair stared gloomily back. Taking a long time to study her own appearance, she huffed in anger and tore her gaze away with disgust.

She had once been so happy. Her eyes, that had once held laughter and radiated curiosity, now broadcasted a certain weariness and constant fear that was unbecoming on her. Then again, she figured weariness and constant fear would be ugly on anyone, not just her.

Well, at least not many more people would have to tolerate the eyesore that she presented to the world on a daily bases for much longer once the Marrok got there.

A shiver raced up her spine at the thought.

Her eyes became unfocused again as she took in the bright silver under the spots of tarnish that held the pieces of mirror in place still. Moving her hands so she could ghost her fingers over the embroidered silver and cracks of glass down to the ornate handle, she brushed her thumb over the name carved into the precious metal in a delicate script that subtly proclaimed the original owner of the vanity piece: Gloria Odorisio.

Her mother.

How she missed her mother. The mirror had been a gift from her father to her mother as a wedding present. Considering that it was made of pure silver, and that her father was a werewolf, she often wondered at the symbolism behind such a gesture. Werewolves didn't care for silver a whole lot as it was sometimes very painful for them touch it. She could touch it with no problem even though she was a werewolf as well, and she had long ago put it up to her mother being turned into a Vampire when she was pregnant with her.

Long ago her mom had held this mirror. So had her dad.

Sighing quietly, she moved her eyes back to her fissured image in the mirror and felt her face drain and heart freeze in mid pump.

There, in the puzzle pieces of reflective glass, the figure of the Marrok himself stood not more than five feet from her huddled form. Golden eyes raging in a calm face as they fixed on her person with such intensity that she could almost feel the burns they left on her chilled skin.


	2. The Marrok

Disclaimer- Patricia Briggs owns…what is hers. I'm merely a manipulator.

Check out her stories= Moon called. Blood bound, and Iron Kissed as they are all really fun!!!!!

Chapter Two!

The Marrok

Raising her head from the fragmented mirror, she looked up into the face of the Alpha of Alphas for only a scant second before she dropped her eyes to his jaw. She might not have been raised in a legit wolf pack, but she was pretty certain that starting a staring contest with an enraged Alpha wasn't a wise thing to do.

Power curled around him like fire did around a dry log. He was more intimidating than any other vampire or wolf she could have encountered up to this point, which was probably why he was the head honcho of the werewolves instead of someone else. His gaze, his very presences made her want to keel over and die just to escape.

Molten eyes traveled over her and then to the downed female behind her and stilled. Scared to remove her complete focus from him to the undoubtedly grisly scene behind her, she discreetly scented the air to the best of her muted abilities to confirm what she already knew for a while.

She could detect the blood, the fatty smell of brain and the fur it was splattered all over.

'_Crap. Crap. CRAP._' She could almost see her old friend death leaning on her shoulder, welcoming her to his home as a permanent guest. She may have been prepared to face her fate only a scant few minutes ago, but now she was praying, _pleading_ to anyone who might be listening for a way out of the hole she had dived into.

"Who are you."

The sudden command snapped her complete focus back on the man before her, and it took a second or two for the voice she knew for certain that she had, to work up the courage to release itself. "El…Elizabeth Odorisio."

His fiery gaze narrowed considerably at her and she ripped her eyes away as fast as she could when she realized she had been staring again. His anger pulsed around her and she had to fight with herself to keep from trembling like a beaten Chihuahua.

Her suddenly sluggish mind finally caught up to her situation and she closed her eyes and tilted her head over and back, exposing her dirtied throat to the raging male before her in a show of complete submissiveness. Angry males were usually calmed by docile submissive females, a tactic she had used on several occasions to save her skin. This though, was no ordinary male.

She was flat on her back with his crushing knee digging into her ribs and a strong hand wrapped around her neck before she could even complete her submission.

"What. Are. You." A voice growled a few centimeters from her cheek and she really had to focus to keep her pounding head with it, having previously been bounced off the ground like a basket ball.

"I- I…don't…under-stand…" she gasped for air, struggling to fill her crushed lungs around her words.

Her response was met with a snarl and the knee being moved up farther till the crushing force was starting to press her heart into cardiac arrest.

"Please! Let me…explainNnn...it was...ughhaaa" Her plea was cut off by a low groan of pain. Answer him first; babble her pathetic excuses later she decided. "A…halfling! I'm…aa-gaaaahhug…..HAFLING!!!" she squealed.

The pressure stopped, but didn't ease up. Black spots were bubbling before her eyes and her lungs were burning with the need to breathe, but she didn't dare squirm. Voices were murmuring over her but she couldn't focus on what was being said.

He was gone in the next instant and she was able to suck in great amounts of much needed, warm air. Blinking, Elizabeth let her eyes focus on the wispy clouds above her before she was hauled to her feet in a surprisingly gentile grip.

The Marrok continued his hold on her good shoulder and waited till she was steady on her feet before releasing her. He did not step away, however.

Her terrified green eyes met his still blazing yellow ones and she gasped and almost retreated before stopping, dropping her head and whispering a 'thank you' to her grubby shoes.

"A halfling…part wolf…and what else." the Marrok growled in a way that was more demand than question. At least he wasn't killing her…yet.

She stalled as she chanced a look at his nose this time. "I guess…well…a vampire…but not really. I have a few…characteristics but I'm not fully half. It's just that…a halfling is always what I was referred too as being." She grew anxious as he started to rumble with another growl. "My mother was originally human to begin with, but was turned when she was still pregnant with me…somehow…somehow I survived…but I…uh…you see it's…complicated…I…uh."

Finishing lamely, she couldn't explain further because even she didn't know how she had survived. All she knew was that she was more wolf than anything else and was grateful for it. Her mother had always said that wolves were naturally loyal and more caring to their own kind, where as vampires were only so because they HAD to be to a certain extent.

She, personally, wasn't a fan of vampire's considering every single one she had ever met (excluding mother) had ulterior motives to catch her and make her a tool.

"I see." was all he said to her abysmal explanation.

He then started towards her with purpose and she slammed her eyes shut and prepared for the kill. A few seconds passed and when nothing happened, she let out the breath she'd been holding and opened weary green eyes. He was behind her now, presumably looking at the shattered female.

Knowing what was behind her, and dreading having to take in the sight of death again, she slowly turned and averted her eyes to the Marrok and another man. It was then she realized that the three of them, plus the dead female, were the only ones there in the clearing.

There was no pack.

'_Lord, these were ungodly powerful wolves_.' Latching on to the excuse to overlook the female that seemed to look even more gruesome than before, as if that were even possible, she took in the appearance of the second man who stood off the side of the Marrok.

He was undoubtedly Native American in appearance, though not heavily so. A real tall, dark and handsome kind of guy, with a strong touch of seriousness radiating from him that brooked no room for nonsense.

She immediately placed him in the 'eye-candy' category of men, though he'd probably snap her neck if he found out she associated his appearance with the word 'candy' in any fashion.

The second man set his heated stare on her and cast her eyes to his feet. Yes, defiantly a no-nonsense man.

'_Stop! Pull yourself together!'_ she mentally commanded of herself. _'As if this were the time to be ogling gorgeous native men!'_

The Marrok stilled suddenly and turned his head to gaze at her with one golden eye, over his shoulder.

She fought down a hysterical giggle and looked around for her twice forgotten backpack, suddenly thirsty. Not finding it where she had dropped it originally, she peered back at the two males to see if they had run off with it and unsurprisingly, the Marrok had a firm grip around the straps.

He was still staring at her with an odd look in his eye. How she could tell it was an odd look for him, she'd probably never know. But then again, she'd gotten used to the idea of dying without ever knowing many things.

"Why are you here?" he asked so abruptly, she'd thought she'd imagined it.

Glancing back down at the shattered vanity mirror she held in her hands, she asked herself that same question. Why was she here?

Originally, Seb had said that this would have been the safest place she could go. "The Boss'll give ya sanctuary. He won't go abusin' what ya are." He had told her on the night her mother had died. She hadn't listened then, thinking that she'd have been strong enough to make it on her own.

She'd messed up. She'd been wrong.

"I came seeking asylum." She ground out. "Seb Serco of the Nebraska Pack had told me that you might have been able to…help me." It felt wrong asking after what she had just done to his mate. How would she have felt had someone just killed her partner and than asked for a favor?

"I'm so sorry! I never meant…th-this was an accident! I only meant to distract her so the campers could get away!" breathing heavily now, she struggled to carry on. This was her chance to explain before he sought fit to finish her off, to apologize for her gargantuan folly. "Just distract her and then make a run for it myself! But I tripped…and my gun misfired…it was…an accident." She finished quietly.

She had closed her eyes as her explanation came to an end and therefore missed the look passed between the two males. The burning high up in her nose signaled how close she was to tears and she was desperately try to get control of the water works. Crying now wasn't an avenue she wished to traverse.

A second later she opened clear eyes and found a pair of shoes that didn't belong to her planted firmly in her line of sight. Raising her head, she met the cool eyes of the Marrok before he quietly handed off her backpack to her.

"The circumstances of which we met was unfortunate." He rumbled to her. "The killing of an Alphas mate is inexcusable and is punishable by death." Stepping away from her and moving in the direction form whence he came, he didn't stop as he issued his final order to her.

"Come."


	3. The Reason

Disclaimer- Patricia Briggs…blah blah blah. Owns stuff…hers…not mine…blah blah

Check out- Moon Called, Blood Bound, Iron kissed.

A/N- Thank you for those who have enjoyed reading my little dorky story and have gotten some sort of enjoyment from it! I smile EVERYTIME I get your comments!

Chapter Three

**The Reason**

"Come."

"Wha- what?!" Elizabeth sputtered out as she watched his retreating form move towards the woods.

When he paused at her less than obedient response, she practically jumped out of her skin to get close to where he was standing. If he wasn't going to terminate her where she stood yet, she should try to at least stay on his good side to prolong her existence as long as possible till she could think of a way out of this mess.

When the Marrok strode into the woods ahead of her, she felt like running in the opposite direction, but the presence of the second man back behind her kept her from carrying through with that flight of fancy. Not only would he probably come after her, the Marrok would most likely appear out of thin are and run her through.

The woods were a really unwelcomed sight for her tired eyes as she plodded miserably over numerous forest 'debris.' What was the purpose for coming in here?

The suspense was driving her nuts!

'_He's going to kill me in those woods and eat me!'_ It was the only explanation that seemed reasonable in this situation, which just showed how terrified she really was, because werewolves weren't cannibals as it went against their nature as pack oriented beings. It was like saying the sun sometimes burned purple just because it felt like it.

Everyone knew that wasn't the mental path of a clear-headed individual.

Elizabeth didn't feel like being a clear-headed individual at the moment because she was almost positive now that she was going to be massacred any minute like all those teenagers in those 'Friday the 13th' movies, where Jason gets bored and cuts up everyone for 'shits 'n' giggles.'

The Marrok was right _there._ Not more than ten feet in front of her, and had anyone been watching, it looked as if he was just strolling through a park on a Sunday, enjoying the nice weather they were having.

'_How can he be so relaxed about this after all that's happened?'_ Elizabeth whined mentally to herself. _'It's almost cruel for me to be strolling leisurely to my death like this –' _Her running mental dialogue interrupted as her face intimately smashed into the leaf strewn forest floor after having snagged her foot and cargo pants in a nasty little colony of brambles.

Lying there, in the dirt and dead leaves, she sneezed miserably at the sweet smell of decaying foliage while it invaded her bruised nose. "This is so not my day…" she groaned to herself as she rolled over and slowly sat up to take in the entangled thorns wrapped around her foot.

Reaching over, she meticulously began to unwind her limb from the knot of sharp, thorny branches, all the while hating on the bush and the sadist, Mother Nature, whom created it.

Several minutes, and a few deep gouges later, she was standing and brushing herself off. It took another minute to realize that she was standing alone in the woods, the Marrok having disappeared from her sight when she experienced her little detour.

"Oh no…" her heart dropped into her stomach. '_Where did he go?'_ Spinning around, Elizabeth checked behind her to see if he was waiting to snap her neck from behind.

Just quiet forest met her searching eyes.

Exhaling in relief, she turned back to face the direction she had originally been traveling before and ventured a few steps forward to see if he was standing up ahead. When she was again met with nothing, she spun in a complete circle taking in the whole visible forest before her.

Where on Earth had he wondered off too? What was the point of leading her in here if he was just going leave her? Wasn't she supposed to answer for her crimes or something?

A loud crack sounded off in the distance causing Elizabeth to jump and spin to face the other direction. That was no twig! But her inquiring search turned up nothing again just the stillness of forest and the distant chattering of birds.

Letting out a slow breath, she inhaled again to try and calm her racing heart. The poor organ was going to give out on her soon if she failed to get a grip.

She didn't like this closed in feeling. Being originally from Nebraska, a state that was primarily wide open farmland and prairie, the tall, imposing forests of Montana were like walls to her. The sky was just spattered about above her head and she couldn't seem to get her bearings on which cardinal direction she was facing without the sun.

"Great! Just great! Mother, please guide me, as I'm so lost." Elizabeth whispered quietly to the heavens. She needed a way out. If the Marrok wanted her, he could come find her again but she wasn't hanging out here for him any longer.

Nodding to herself, Elizabeth thought about her next course of action. Locate which direction she came from, and head back that way. Before she could even move, a chill raced up her spine twice to let her know something was wrong. That's when she realized that the woods were dead silent. No bird song filtering past the trees, or wind crinkling the branches.

Something was watching her.

Or stalking her.

"That son of a-"Elizabeth swore out loud. What kind of twisted game was he getting at? Leaving her by herself to go off and re-hunt her in a horrible game of cat and mouse? "I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! COME OUT!" She barked out with anger induced bravado.

She wasn't a toy regardless if he was the Leader of all the werewolves in North America! And he not only ignored her, but continued to watch her.

Elizabeth could feel it in her gut as she darted her eyes back and forth. Pausing, she inhaled deeply to pick up his scent, but only ended up having a sneezing fit in return. She then tried to strain her ears to pick up on his breathing or heartbeat, but all she could hear was the high pitched whine of dead silence coming in from everywhere.

What was the point of having better than average smell and hearing if she couldn't even use them at a time like this? Rubbing her nose, with her dirtied hand, she looked to the ground at her feet and tried to feel okay with the situation. Running probably wouldn't accomplish much if it was the Marrok and she refused to die running like a complete fool.

Elizabeth wished it was easier done then said. Taking a deep breath through her mouth so she wouldn't end up sneezing her brains out of her nose, she closed her eyes and tried to sooth the sharp instinct to make a run for it.

Reopening her eyes once more, she had just enough time to duck a large pair of gleaming claws before they cleaved her head from her shoulders.

"NGGG!" grunting hard as she hit the ground and rolled to her knees, she again just barely avoided another deadly blow as the bull sized, dark-brown werewolf followed up her retreat.

Dodging behind a large tree, she covered her head as it exploded behind her in a shower of splinters and dirt. This wasn't the Marrok! This wasn't even the handsome man the Marrok had brought with him. The scent coming from this werewolf was familiar but she was positive she'd never met him before.

Who was he then? One of the Marroks henchmen?! Was this his idea of justice!?

Snarling to her left caused her to nearly keel over and die, as the gaping maw of the wolf flew at her face. She threw herself back as the wolf collided with her and they rolled a few times from the momentum of the attack and she bit back a scream as the second pair of talons that day sliced into her already injured shoulder.

Managing to get her feet up under the belly of the werewolf, she pushed with everything she had in her and sent the mad wolf flying over her, taking out a tree or two as he landed with a thunderous crash.

'_Run. Run! RUN!'_ her mind squealed in terror as the beast started to haul itself back onto it's gigantic paws, drooling and growling as he locked his crazy, steel gray eyes onto her.

The ground kicked up at her feet as she ran for everything she was worth away from the monster, her pack thumping uncomfortably up and down on her back in tandem with her flying feet.

The blood curdling howl that swelled behind her just added fuel to the tank as she put on another burst of fear induced speed. There was no way she could take on a wolf that big by herself. She didn't even have enough time to transform without ending up as a sliced up ham. It was then, more than ever, that she wished she still had her shotgun that she had left back at the camp ground.

Jumping over fallen trees and dodging wayward branches that threatened to halt her passing body weren't helping her efforts of escape very well either. The white hot feeling of being run down was enough to make her want to cry. It was only a matter of time now before the beast caught her. The were-form was far more agile and quick than the human, and in this case it was still true, but that wolf was far too large to be able to use his full potential while still in the woods.

Elizabeth figured that that was the only good thing the forest had going in its favor.

'_THINK! YOU'VE MADE IT THIS FAR!'_ she thought frantically as a tree exploded a mere foot to her side as she raced by, the debris forcing her to bank sharply in the other direction.

"SHIT!" she screamed as the werewolf howled again from right behind her right shoulder, practically in her ear. Blasting into a clearing, she heard something that caused her to cut a 'J' like pattern towards the line of densely grown trees on the opposite side that would make it hard for the wolf to maneuver about in.

The crashing of water against rock in the distance was like music to her ears and the crumpled hope of escape expanded as she altered her course again in the direction of water.

Werewolves can't swim. They are far too bulky and heavily muscled to be able to stay above the water. They sink like a stone basically and it was a piece of valuable information that Seb had given her long ago that she kept always in the back of her mind when dealing with unfriendly werewolves.

Outside of a silver bullet and gun that she was currently lacking, water was her best bet for survival.

The savage sounds of the wolf were now in competition for the ever growing roaring of the river up ahead and as she was able to make out the white, foamy rapids in between the trees, she started to run parallel to the river.

The trees were thinning and the insane wolf was regaining on her as her body started to slow from exhaustion.

"Just a…bit…further…" Elizabeth huffed out as her ragged breathing was starting to become pained and the acidy burn in her legs grew unbearable.

Bursting from the forest, she barreled over the rocky shore, gunning for the drop off up ahead where the water plummeted into a raven hundreds of feet below.

The beast was less than a stride away from her back when she threw herself sharply to the right grasping a hold of whatever log, rock or root she could hang onto so she wasn't thrown off the cliff from her own momentum.

The huge wolf had been so intent on the hunt that when she changed direction so suddenly, there was no way he could follow or stop the inertia he had built up and his speed, coupled with his bulk, were much too great for the suddenly too short amount of ground left to stop from flying off the cliff.

Twisting his torso desperately to try and pull his body to a stop, the werewolf roared in fury as his rump was swept off the edge of the cliff and joined with the sheets of heavy falling water, his last cry being drowned out by the more powerful thundering of the falls.

Elizabeth was holding on by a mere clump of long, stubborn grass blades and was searching feverishly for a foot hold to help push her self up with. Her arms were shaking and her shoulder didn't seem capable of holding her for much longer.

The feeling of popping grass was enough send her feet into a panicked dance against the smooth rock wall, and with a fresh burst of adrenaline, she scurried back up the cliff face. When she had both hands clasped on the edge, Elizabeth heaved herself up and dragged her body a good distance away from the edge.

Rolling onto her back and ignoring the uncomfortable hump her pack made, she took in the billowing cloud coming off the waterfall and expanse of late afternoon blue sky beyond it, unbelieving that she had managed to survive.

Elizabeth wasn't sure how long she had lain there gasping for breath and shaking from exertion, so when the odd golden gaze of the Marrok blocked her view of the darkening sky above her, she hardly moved a muscle.

Too tired to care about respectful protocol, dominance issues and the whole stupid eye contact thing, she just held his gaze and asked the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue since the chase had begun.

"Was this some sort of sick game in retaliation for the accidental killing of your mate? Hers was a quick, relatively painless accident! A punishment to fit the crime, you said!" Elizabeth was quickly loosing her last slip of emotional control. She had made a mistake while trying to help an innocent group of campers. She had accepted her fate semi-graciously and had even apologized whole heartedly for it.

This was wrong.

Sick and wrong!

'_This is the kind of messed up man our esteemed leader is?!? To force someone to be a chew toy for a berserker?!' _her mind railed against the confines of her head._ 'Our leader?! No. Theirs. NOT mine. NEVER mine!'_

His eyes narrowed severely into her defiant green ones. She was flat on her back, belly and neck exposed, completely at his mercy, but she wasn't going to give him this one.

She wasn't going to back down this time and be a worthlessly meek female.

He sighed, blinked, and kneeled down next to her head. "That was no ploy of mine. They were rouges." Was all he said as he started to probe her mangled shoulder with cold fingers. "This needs attention."

"Hey!" Elizabeth snapped as he cut her ripped and bloodied shirt apart around her shoulder with a large knife he had pulled from seemingly nowhere. _'Just like that psycho, Jason and his magic machete!' _

"Stop." He said at once as she went to jerk away from his hand again.

"NO! You stop!" Elizabeth barked back. She wouldn't trust his intentions to aid her. He was supposed to kill her for the justification in the accidental murder of his mate. Not help her heal!

"I won't tell you again to stop moving around. I am not going to harm you while you're in such a state." He said coolly as she continued to hinder him from a proper examination of her shoulder. "You have my word."

"I can't trust you and-"her waspish retort was cut off as his hand covered her mouth and he leaned in very close, irritated, yellow iris's practically glowing in the fading light of day.

"You're just going to have to deal with it. I have questions, and you might have the answers, so I won't kill you, nor let you die for the time being until I know exactly what is going on." He finished in a low rumbling voice, just a scant inch away from her face. Golden steal clashed with raging green. What the _hell_ was going on?

As he backed away, he slowly removed his hand from her mouth to see if she was going to go off again and when she said nothing, he removed his hand completely and went back to working on her shoulder.

Elizabeth sighed miserably after a few minutes. The fear from earlier coming back to the forefront of her mind as the Marrok continued to button up her shoulder with a few strips of cloth he made from a handkerchief he pulled from his back pocket.

"What do you need to know?" she finally managed to squeeze from her constricted throat, searching for what she might know while she, herself, was completely in the dark on practically everything. She just shot and killed his female…there really wasn't anymore too it. Other than the fact that it was a total accident and she would never have even interrupted had it not been for that family of campers.

He didn't pause in his self-appointed task as he as he responded. "Not here, as anyone could be listening. Can you sit up?" Elizabeth exhaled harshly and started to prop herself up with the added support of the Marroks' hand on her back underneath her pack.

"Thank you…for the help." She mumbled out. She might not like him. She couldn't trust him at all and was almost positive that he would kill her when the time came, but her mother had drilled manners into her so far that those screws would never come loose.

"You're welcome. Now, we better get moving to a more sheltered area before night falls completely." He told her as he unfolded to his full height and extended a hand to her, which she accepted only because it was a lot easier than refusing and doing it herself. He used that tone again; the one that clearly underlined the fact that she didn't have a choice in the matter. Releasing her hand, he looked back at the drop off where the insane werewolf had left deep scares in the rock and back to her with a raised eyebrow.

"What? It wasn't like I could take that giant hound on in a fight." She defended the odd tactic she had used.

"I'm actually mildly impressed that you managed to pull something like that off successfully." He told her in what distinctly sounded like a patronizing tone of voice. But before she could rally a snippy comeback, he put his hand on her good shoulder, turned her towards the woods and gave a gentle shove. "We need to go."

She held her tongue and took up position behind him as he again led her back into the, now even creepier, forest.

Touching him scared her she decided. He had been built up to be some, unbeatable, untouchable being, and here he was wrapping her shoulder and giving her a hand up with the grisly knowledge that it was her that she had killed someone he loved.

The still fresh guilt rose up inside her again as her thoughts turned towards the deceased mate of this man. He was alone now and it was all her fault. She still couldn't understand how he was being so…calm about it all. A mate was like the other half of a person and to loose them must be so excruciatingly painful that Elizabeth was pretty sure she'd never recover if she were to loose someone like that.

The rumbling of the falls slowly died away as they moved back through the woods and down hill. He apparently knew where they were going which was a mild relief for her. To Elizabeth, all the trees and shrubs and random boulders all looked the exact same except each time she had to step up, over or around them, they became more daunting obstacles.

They walked for hours under the increasingly darkening sky and said little to each other as they weaved their way to whatever destination he had in mind, and since the Marrok insisted that someone might be eavesdropping and therefore basically forbade any and all conversation for the time being, it was a slow going few hours.

Each step was becoming harder for Elizabeth, so when they came to a particularly steep slide of rough vegetation and white boulders, Elizabeth had had enough. She really needed to rest as she hadn't really ever spent this much time becoming one with nature.

"…I don't want to sound whinny and high maintenance and all, but may we please rest? I just need…a couple minutes…" She pleaded with him hesitantly. He owed her no favors…and it seemed like she just asked them from him anyway.

"Can you make it another couple of feet? There's a cave not more than halfway down this hill and then we can rest for the evening." The Marrok reasoned back to her as he scouted out the easiest way down.

Elizabeth peered down the hazardous slide a moment and nodded. She could do this. They were almost there.

Setting her mind to it, she started to pick her way down before the Marrok, who watched her wearily as she passed.

'_God, I hope I don't trip. Eating rock all the way down would just be a great way to end the crappiest day of my life…" _She sarcastically thought as her foot slid almost out from under her on the loose gravel sprinkled about. _'If I do, I'm going to scream all sorts of profanity as I fall to my splatter-y death, just so my last few minutes in this world offend something!'_

There was a snort behind her, and she didn't even bother turning around as she muttered a quiet 'shut up' at him. Laughing at her little slip on the rocks was not something she wanted to deal with.

'_Smug bastard.'_

"Now! Now! We're here already, so you don't need to go name calling." He intoned lowly from her side causing her face to drain of color. Had she called him that out loud!?! Good lord, she was asking for it!

"Oh, thank you!" She gushed over zealously, hoping that he'd forget about her little slip of the lip and swiveling her head about. "Where is it?" Looking for the mouth to a cave shouldn't be this hard.

All she found, though, was a small crack barely big enough to scoot sideways through, about six feet up a smooth rock wall. "Crap."

She stared at it a moment longer before turning to question the Marrok to make sure she was looking at the right hole when he lifted her up so quickly she squealed in surprise. "Eh- Hey! I'm capable!"

"Not with the condition your shoulder is in you aren't. Move to the back when you get through as I'm right behind you." He instructed from below her in clipped tones as she pulled her self through the fissure.

"At least he didn't comment on my height." She grumbled to herself. Standing at an astonishing five foot, four inches, she was often the butt of several midget jokes. They had gotten really old, really fast a long time ago.

The cave smelled like old cooking fire and dust and was large enough for her to stand up in and move a bout. There was a stack of dry firewood stored in a shallow crack along the back wall and an old sleeping bag rolled up in another, with a cooking pot resting on top of it.

Her exploration of the cave came to a halt when the Marrok blocked the weak light from the outside out as he shuffled through the fissure much the same way she had with a bit more difficulty as he was larger than she was. Backing away to give him as much room as possible, Elizabeth leaned back against the wall near the fire wood and waited for the Marrok to enter completely.

"Okay good. Now you can rest." He told her as he brushed dust from his clothes.

She let her legs give out and slowly slid down the wall into a tired heap on the floor, all the while watching him pat his clothes down. "Music to my ears." She sighed as she pulled her battered rucksack from her sore shoulders. "I'm going to feel this in the morning."

The Marrok moved to sit down not far from her and watched as she rotated her good shoulder, wince then stop completely. "You're part wolf. I would assume being at least part of one is enough to ensure you heal rapidly." He stated as he pulled the sleeping bag out and looked it over before tossing it to her.

Elizabeth watched the bag land at her feet and the dust it sent up in little swirls. It had occurred to her earlier in the day that she didn't know this mans name.

The Marrok: he was an enigma to her. He's presence was unnerving in more ways than one, including the fact that she knew next to nothing about him except what everyone knew as common knowledge. And despite how angry or whatever it was that he felt towards her, he was extremely cordial and gentlemanly.

What really was bothering her was that she didn't deserve this from him. He should have killed her out right like any other dominant male would have done. But he said he needed answers and apparently she had them, or so he believed. To what? That crazy wolf that attacked her? Where was he anyway when she was being attacked?

Not that she had expected him to save her or anything…it just seemed really bizarre that a werewolf so out of it like that was aloud to tromp around the Marroks territory. He said it was no…'ploy' of his that they were Rouges. So should she assume he had nothing to do with it?

She wanted to think it highly unlikely.

But he didn't seem like the type to lie. She knew liars very well and all of them displayed certain qualities and quirks that they weren't able to hide from a keen observer who knew what to look for.

He seemed so honest when he swore to her that he wouldn't harm her…yet.

Ah, he isn't a liar. He is just very talented at spinning a conversation. He's a master loophole artist because he manages to hold all the cards. Oh great. One of those…people…she didn't even know a word for that.

Well whatever it was he was looking for in her, he had a better chance at finding his answers interrogating a mushroom then he did finding them from her. She had more questions than answers at the moment herself.

Speaking of questions, maybe he could enlighten her on some things.

"You know, uh…Mr. Marrok, I never did get your name." She started out awkwardly. Jeeze, that sounded a billion times better in her own head than it did when she said it out loud. "That is unless you prefer…Mr. Marrok."

When did she become so lame? Mr. Marrok…seriously…'smug bastard' was far more him.

"Bran Cornick." He stated as he settled in against the rough wall. "It should be warm enough tonight to get by without a fire. The smoke is sometimes too much for this little cave." He glanced over at her slumped form, "you really should get some rest. We have quite a ways to travel tomorrow."

Oh, joy.

"Well, Mr. Cornick, I was just curious as to where it is that we happen to be going exactly?" she ventured hesitantly.

"We're going to Aspen Creek. It's about a days walk south of here." He told her quietly. Even though night had fallen outside a while ago, she could still see him perfectly. One of the perks about being a supernatural being.

"Who was that wolf that attacked me today? I know you said it was rouge, but you implied that there was more than just the one I dealt with." She pulled the sleeping bag towards her and began rolling it out. Thankfully it was dust free were she would be lying.

"That's where you come in." He stretched. "I've been hearing things about rouges attacking both people and other wolves for sometime now, and almost half the time your name is linked in with them." Staring back at her shocked expression, he cracked a small grin. "I have eyes and ears everywhere. Seb filled me in a long time ago about you."

Her 'particular circumstance?' What a way to short change the truth. "I was attacked by those very rouges you are talking about! I had nothing to do with them attacking anyone today or ever!"

"I'm very well aware of you're roll in today's events. What I need to know is why!" He stated mildly.

"You said Seb had filled you in about me a while ago. Why did you seem so unfamiliar with who and what I was earlier if you knew all about me?" She asked back. He wasn't making sense. He knew about her, but at the same time he didn't?

He rested his head back against the wall and was silent for so long that she started to think he was just going to ignore her. "He told me who you are, and what happened to your parents and some of the reasons why both the Vampire's and various packs showed interest in you. Although, he refused to tell me exactly what it was that you're so sought after." He opened his eyes and looked back over at her, "Apparently he wanted you to tell me yourself."

How she loved Seb. He was always looking out for her.

"He told me that you could help me, maybe." She repeated herself from earlier. "But now, I don't deserve to ever ask anything from you." She lowered her head and sadly stared at the dirty knees of her cargos. "I'm really and truly sorry about what happened to her." Elizabeth whispered brokenly to him.

'_I'm so, so, sorry."_

He was watching her. She could feel it on the side of her face.

"It was completely an accident, and almost wholly my fault-"

'_Please…'_

"Stop." He interrupted quietly before she could finish, so she fell silent with a bated breath. The sting in her nose told her she was close to tears again. She wasn't made to kill things…even the crazy, psycho wolf's demise earlier bothered her some.

'_Please…'_

A low sigh and mild shuffling near her had her raising her eyes to his form as he was making himself more comfortable. "We can talk about all this later. As for now try to get some sleep." He said softly into the space between them.

Her heart hurt.

She hated the feeling that she destroyed someone else's world. The guilt was enough to make her want to crawl into a hole and never come out again.

He told her that they could talk later. So she had a chance to make amends…somehow. If she could some how help him. _'Tomorrow is another day.'_ It was that age old saying that her mother used to rattle off to her whenever Elizabeth had a bad day. Back then it was irritating to be told such a 'useless' phrase over and over. She had wanted things to be better right then! Not tomorrow.

Now, the echo of her mother's comforting voice whispering that in her head like a feathery touch brought both the comfort and hope that tomorrow was indeed a brand new day. It helped her sleep at night knowing that she could try again with Bran Cornick tomorrow.

For tomorrow was indeed, another day.


End file.
